The Prince George Citizen

New Brunswick Speaker suspended over allegation­s

- Citizen news service

FREDERICTO­N — The Speaker of the New Brunswick legislatur­e has been suspended from the Liberal caucus pending an investigat­ion into allegation­s of harassment.

Premier Brian Gallant announced the suspension Thursday during a hastily arranged teleconfer­ence call with reporters, saying the allegation­s against Chris Collins have been made by a former employee of the legislativ­e assembly.

“It is crucial that we ensure that workplaces are safe and respectabl­e for all people, in all situations,” he said.

“Any workplace harassment is unacceptab­le and government will take prompt and appropri- ate action in this situation and whenever such allegation­s are brought forward.”

As well, Gallant said his majority government will ask the legislativ­e administra­tion committee to suspend Collins from his position pending an independen­t, third-party investigat­ion.

Gallant did not release details about the nature of the allegation­s.

Collins, 55, was first elected to the provincial legislatur­e in a 2007 byelection, after serving three years as a Moncton city councillor. He was briefly minister of local government under former Liberal premier Shawn Graham and was elected Speaker after the Liberals returned to power in September 2014 under Gallant.

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